Paul Connolly is set to join HSBC as head of oil and gas for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Until this month he had been in a similar role at Australian bank Macquarie. He will join HSBC after a period of gardening leave.

HSBC confirmed his appointment. Macquarie declined to comment.

In his last three months at Macquarie, he was cited as an adviser by small and mid-cap firms in numerous regulatory announcements, including those issued by exploration and production companies Max Petroleum, Coastal Energy, Bankers Petroleum, GeoPark Holdings, San Leon Energy and Green Dragon Gas. A former member of oil and gas services at Citigroup, Connolly joined Macquarie in 2008.

Connolly’s hire is part of the strategy of Matthew Wallace, the UK bank’s global head of resources and energy, to build his team. He will report to Wallace, who is predominantly based in Hong Kong, and will work closely with William Stevens, who heads the global upstream financing team.

HSBC’s energy business has undergone a transformation since the appointment of Wallace late last year. Earlier this year, the firm hired Jorge Martinez to head oil and gas in Asia.

Speaking to Financial News last month, Wallace said that new technology, new demand and new supply had shaken up the entire oil and gas industry: “It is a very dynamic background from which to set strategy.”

Recent deals for the bank include advising Chinese firm Sinopec on its $1.5bn purchase of 49% of the North Sea assets of UK oil group Talisman and acting as sellside adviser on the sale of ConocoPhillips’ Vietnam business.